Sharing from Speed Reading Workshop

SPEED READING WORKSHOP

by: Madam Hayati

What is reading?

Reading is meaning making. If you read and you don’t understand, or you read and you can’t just remember what you just read a minute ago that means you’re not reading!

But first, we need to understand how our brain work first. Try to look at these video

Jambatan Otak (Low Def but possible to understand)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UFCPnaFueg

Additional - Brain Trick – How our brain work 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiTz2i4VHFw

What can we learn from this video? It is that if you want to read heavy material, you’ll struggle at first, different from reading casual material.

Also, another good thing to do is to check your preferred way of learning, whether you are a visual / Analogue Audio / Digital Audio / Kinesthetic type of learner. (Hint: If you’re a Analogue Audio type then you should consider buying a voice recorder. Test is given at the end of this post)

Now, let’s do a speed reading test. Pick any new article that you haven’t read before, one that you can read comfortably. If you’re comfortable with English, go for it, if you want to read Malay article, also possible. If you usually read Al-Qur’an then..

Take a stopwatch, and when you’re ready start the stopwatch and read the article. (Make sure you’re not trying too hard to read fast, just read casually). After 1 minute of reading mark the last word at that 1:00 time and count the number of word you’ve just read. Repeat a few times if you want. That amount is the number of word per minute (wpm) and that is your speed of reading. An average person speed of reading is 150-200 word per minute. A super fast reader can read at 600 word per minute!

Note that in this workshop the speaker only give a beginner level tips to be a super reader. The speaker presented some common problem when reading:

1. Unconscious & Conscious Regression

This is your optimal body posture when pointing with a pen or hand.
1. This means that after you read something, due to you consciously (or unconsciously), you would go back to read the previous sentence or paragraph.
2. Never regress when reading.
3. Tips #1: Point with a pen or a hand when reading (called hand-pacing)
4. Tips #2: Preview what you are going to read. Use the SQ3R Method.
2. Reading Word by Word

1. We need to practice reading multiple words at the same time.
2. Use eye hopping method, by jumping from 2 or 3 word at a time. Example is given above (Obviously in a book you wouldn't find word spaced like this, so you have to do this mentally)
   
3. Sub-vocalization (Reading out loud)
1. This could be an effect due to our kindergarten or primary school experience. Expert said that we sub-vocalize when we are weak in certain language.
2. Reading out loud slows our reading speed because our brain can read faster.
   
4. Poor vocabulary
1. This is a common problem, many expert have taught us that when we don't understand a word, we should find its meaning and write it in a special note, and review it periodically. Remember the video Jambatan Otak?
2. A word is a concept, so make sure to know its synonym and antonym.
   
5. Poor organization
1. Use SQ3R method
2. Survey the chapter
3. Question yourself
4. Read
5. Recite
6. Review

Additional Information:
Answer this test to see your preferred way of learning.

Visual learner: Absorb information through eyes.
Analogue Audio: Listens a lot to internal voices.
Digital Audio: Good listener to lectures.
Kinesthetic: Learn better when doing practical thing.

This workshop was based on the book How to be a Super Reader by Ron Cole

IIUM as Research University?

Sedikit perkongsian dari program ni.

DISCUSSION: IIUM RESEARCH UNIVERSITY
SPEAKER: Dr Tengku Haziyamin (Wakil pensyarah)
                   Bro Azam Amiruddin (Wakil MPP)
                   Bro Badruddin (Wakil Pelajar)

MODERATOR: Bro Syafwan Azizi (MPP Akademik & Intelektual)

Panel 1: Bro Azam - What is Research University

#1 Criteria to be considered Research University:

• How many research paper is being made in 1 year
• How many research paper is cited in 1 year
• How does the research help boost local economy

#2 4 Privilege of a Research University:

• Autonomy in Administration
• Autonomy in Financial Management
• Autonomy in Human Resource
• Autonomy in Student Taking

#3 Malaysian Research University begins in 2006. It is included in Rancangan Malaysia ke-Sembilan (RMK9).

Pengalaman pergi Australia..

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Assalamualaikum
Setelah sekian lama menangguh, akhirnya akan membuat catatan mengenai lessons i learnt from Australia

Hari Pertama

Kami bertolak dari Malaysia pada pukul 11.50 am. Penerbangan akan mengambil masa kira-kira 7-8 jam (sama macam naik bas balik Kuantan-Kelantan je!). Dalam flight tu menghabiskan battery Tab akak dengan tengok2 movie dan novel The Black Company..hehe

Kami sampai di Sydney International Airport pada pukul 9 PM. Waktu di sana lebih 2 jam dari Malaysia. Sesampai di situ terus disambut oleh Uncle Greg kawan lama ayah saya. Sekeluarnya dari airport tu, benda pertama buat terus usha-usha kereta yang ada kat situ. Xde pun kereta macam Kancil ke, Viva ke (Ni bukan nak kutuk Perodua..not yet), banyak Toyota/ Honda. Orang Australia nampak macam suka camper van, maybe nature diorang yang suka traveling kot.

Bila naik jip Uncle Greg benda pertama dia bagitahu semua wajib pakai seat belt, walaupun orang yang duduk kat belakang. Kat Australia kalau x kena saman. Sekali kena saman terus revoke license! Power power. Hasratnya sebelum sampai rumah tu nak singgah-singgah restoran dulu makan, tapi kebanyakan kedai kat Australia 10 PM dah tutup dah. Jadi kitorang singgah di & Eleven je..haha.

Sampai kat rumah Uncle Greg ada light dinner sikit, ada makan nasi campur dengan buah cranberry, ok la best jugak rasanya. Tak lama tu kitorang terus berehat untuk solat, dan tidur.

Hari Kedua

The time for Fajr prayer there is around 5.30 am. So after praying we just sort of do whatever we want. At 8 am we have breakfast consisting of donut / choc-filled bread (2 of my favourite thing!) and lots, really lots of fruits! (there's mango, lychee, watermelon, green apple).
After breakfast we get ready to go jalan-jalan.We goes on Uncle Greg's jeep to Beverly Hills Train Station and by there we took the train to go to Circular Quay. To my amazement, the train there is a double decker train.

On the way Uncle Greg told us about the history of Australia. Its sort of like this:

Australia was founded by a British explorer Captain James Cook. (Of course founded is rather a funny term, since there are already aborigines living there, I guess the situation is same with us Malaysian where we make war with the Orang Asal and we claimed Tanah Melayu while they fled to the forest..). Australia, being a harsh place the British used it as a place to dump their prisoners. So in sort Australia 'began' as a natural prison for convict. It was really hard to live, there's not much water, there's not really that much irrigate-able land and so forth. So Uncle Greg said that one of the thing that came from this is that, when your ancestors are convict, you tend to (1) not respect your elder and (2) you believe that everyone are equal in Australia. This is prevalent since Australia has a lot of other races living together in harmony.

So, enough of that (since we arrived) so we go out have a walk around. Circular Quay is sort of like a large garden built around a harbor (at Kuantan like Taman Tasik Bandar, at Kota Bharu like Taman Tengku Anis). It is close to the Opera House and Botany Garden. From here you can see the Harbour Bridge (As can be seen from the pic above). Also, there's like a lot of people that is jogging around (its 12 PM and doesn't even feel hot) or just sitting there relaxing (macam kat TC). It makes me wonder whether or not they are working or what because it is on Thursday. After walking around and seeing some souvenir shop we had a lunch of fish and chip, veggie burger, pasta, pizza with garlic and cheese (since we cannot eat meat/chicken, but it seems at Australia with you can add many stuff with pizza, at Malaysia you must have meat/fish/chicken on top haha).

After that we return by train to Beverly Hills Station. On the way to home we stop at a local grocery store to buy some food. I'm not sure whether Thursday is no plastic day or what there but they don't serve plastic at all so you either bring/buy a paper bag, or they have some unused box and you can use the box. After that we return to home for a dinner and rest.

1. this is my new way of blogging. instead of waiting for the post to be perfect 
   I'll just post it straight away and edit when 
   I want again.
   
   
   

Kisah keengganan Iblis untuk sujud kepada Nabi Adam & sumpah Iblis di hadapan Allah untuk menyesatkan manusia

Ringkasan dari Kuliah Qasasul Quran bersama Ustaz Hazmi Dibok (Surah Al-A'raf Ayat 11 hingga 17)

2 Mac 2014, Masjid Tengku Ampuan Afzan 

1. Keengganan Iblis Sujud Hormat kepada Adam

• Kesombongan akan menenggelamkan kewarasan akal.
• Allah bertanya kepada Iblis kenapa dia enggan sujud, tetapi jawapan Iblis tidak menjawab soalan tersebut.
• Jawapan Iblis ("Aku lebih baik") menunjukkan ada unsur siapa yang lebih baik.
• Apa yang diperintahkan oleh Allah pasti ada kebaikan, dan apa yang dilarang oleh Allah pasti ada mudharat.

2. Oleh sebab itu, Iblis diusir dari Tempat Malakut

• Syurga bukan tempat untuk orang yang takabbur, hanya Allah yang berhak untuk takabbur.
• 
  

   من تواضع لله رفعه الله، ومن تكبّر وضعه الله
  Sesiapa yang tawaduk kepada Allah dia akan diangkat, yang takabbur akan dihina
• Tidak ada konflik antara takabbur dengan program motivasi membina keyakinan diri.
• Takabbur bukan merasai keyakinan diri, tetapi membesarkan diri dan merendahkan orang lain (Merasa diri lebih hebat dari yang lain).
• Pemimpin yang tawaduk akan dikenangi orang dan dihormati, orang yang takabbur akan menjadi kebencian orang.

3. Sumpah Iblis di Hadapan Allah

• Iblis meminta dilengahkan ajal sehingga Hari Kiamat.
• Iblis yang dilaknat meminta dari Allah dan Allah memenuhi permintaannya. Ini adalah Sifat Ar-Rahman yang Maha Pemurah. Begitu juga dengan orang kafir yang meminta dengan Allah akan dipenuhi permintaannya di dunia.
• Iblis adalah dari golongan jin. Iblis adalah Jin yang spesifik. Manakala Syaitan adalah pengikut Iblis.
• Iblis pada hari ini adalah sama dengan Iblis yang hidup pada zaman Nabi Adam A.S dahulu. Disebabkan oleh itu, Iblis mengenali bermacam-macam aneka ragam manusia.
  
  Firman Allah dalam Surah Al-A'raf, Ayat 17:

"Kemudian aku datangi mereka, dari hadapan mereka serta dari belakang mereka, dan dari kanan mereka serta dari kiri mereka; dan Engkau tidak akan dapati kebanyakan mereka bersyukur" (Al-A'raf: 17)

4. Iblis menzahirkan kedengkian dan kebencian kepada Nabi Adam A.S dan zuriatnya. Iblis kemudiannya menzahirkan perancangannya untuk menyesatkan anak-anak Adam dari jalan yang lurus dari berbagai arah.

Tafsir Ibn Abbas:

1. Mendatangi dari depan - meragukan manusia tentang hari akhirat.
2. Dari arah belakang - meningkatkan kecintaan kepada dunia.
3. Dari arah kanan - menyamarkan urusan agama.
4. Dari arah kiri - menimbulkan syahwat terhadap maksiat.

• Kemunasabahan Hari Akhirat - sebagai tempat membalas perbuatan manusia di dunia
• Iblis menjadikan akhirat tidak menarik di mata manusia, dan menghias dunia secantik-cantiknya.
• Pahala dan dosa adalah ghaib - tidak dapat dilihat. Manakala dunia dapat dilihat. Iblis menjadikan pemikiran tentang akhirat samar-samar.
• Sahabat sebagai generasi yang mendapat pendidikan terus dari Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. Mereka dididik selama 10 tahun di Makkah untuk membina akidah dan pandangan akhirat, Oleh sebab itu, golongan sahabat digelar Abnaul Akhirah (Putera-putera akhirat).
• Antara cara menanam pemikiran yang dididik dengan pendidikan akhirat: membumikan akhirat di dalam perbualan.
• Nabi S.A.W selalu bergurau dengan gurauan akhirat.

Untuk orang muda..atau rasa muda ofc

Telah berkata Rasulullah S.A.W kepada kita:
"Rebutlah 5 perkara sebelum 5 perkara: masa mudamu sebelum masa tuamu.."

1. Perkataan ightanim di sini biasa digunakan dalam ghanimah. Iaitu harta rampasan perang. Maka ightanim bermaksud rampas daripada lawan. Siapa lawan kita? Lawan kita ialah syaitan dan nafsu itu sendiri.

2. Dari Hadis ini juga perkara pertama yang disebut Baginda S.A.W ialah tentang masa muda. Mengapa? Kerana Rasulullah S.A.W ingin memberi perhatian kepada golongan muda. Golongan muda begitu berharga kepada Islam kerana mereka mempunyai 2 benda; (1)Tenaga dan (2)Semangat.

3. Orang muda juga dimuliakan dalam satu lagi Hadis yang masyhur iaitu "Sab'atun yuzilluhumullahu fi zillihi.." iaitu orang yang golongan mudanya dipenuhi dgn ketaatan kepada Allah.

4. Kisah Ashabul Ukhdud juga mengajar kita akan betapa hebatnya seorang ghulam (budak) yang beriman kepada Allah. Antara ulasan menarik dari Syeilh Hisham 'Abd Bari ialah bagaimana tukang sihir yang sufah tua itu meminta kepada menteri dicarikan budak yang terpandai dari kampung untuk belajar dengannya.

5. Syeikh mengulas kini Amerika & Barat juga melakukan perkara yang sama dengan menawarkan biasiswa untuk belajar secara percuma di universiti mereka. Bukan sekadar memberi Ilmu engineering, medic dan sebagainya tetapi juga menanamkan fikrah sekularisme, liberalisme dan lain lain agar apabilq mereka pulang mereka menjadi pemimpin mereka juga menjadi pemimpin yang sekular, liberal dan lain lain.